Randy Baker, a Partner in Azimuth, is an Aquatic Ecologist with more than 30 years of experience conducting ecological risk, contaminated sites and environmental impact assessment studies. Randy is a member of the Science Advisory Board for Contaminated Sites in BC.

His main focus relates to mercury in the environment, impacts on aquatic resources and implications for ecological and human health. He has participated in more than 150 investigations in the Arctic, central and western Canada, South America, Southeast Asia, Australia and the Indian Ocean. With his extensive experience, Randy brings the following expertise:
• Ability to manage, direct and/or participate in inter-disciplinary, complex and multi-year, risk-based investigations with human health and ecological implications.
• Specialized knowledge in environmental fate and transport of metals and mercury released from mining operations
• Managed implementation of health and environment studies to reduce exposure of artisanal miners to mercury in Indonesia, Laos and Venezuela
• Managed and directed studies to support reservoir mercury modeling studies in reservoirs. Randy led the recent investigations related to mercury on the proposed Site C hydroelectric development
• Examined linkages between contaminants present in water and sediment and implications on lower trophic level biota, fish and marine mammals in the context of hydroelectric dams, mines and sediments
Randy was co-author of the book entitled “Protocols for Environmental and Health Assessment of Mercury Released by Artisanal and Small-scale Miners” with Dr. M. Veiga (UBC). This book has been used to guide risk assessment procedures and harmonize international efforts to assess mining and environmental mercury contaminated hotspots at small-scale gold mining operations.
Randy published a paper on non-destructive tissue extraction techniques for tissue mercury analysis of fish. This method has since been adopted by Environment Canada as part of their national guidance in conducting Environmental Effects Assessments at metal mines. He was also a co-author in a 2014 paper that compiled a nation-wide database on mercury concentrations in fish across Canada.